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Children’s Daily Living Routine Mediates the Relations Between Parent-Child Relationships and Child Adjustment Problems During School Suspension in Hong Kong

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Abstract

Young children’s adjustment problems were found to be prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such adjustment problems may be dependent on children’s relationships with their parents and children’s daily living routine in the family during the pandemic-related school suspension period. This study examines how children’s routine mediated the associations between parent-child relationships and child adjustment problems during the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, when schools were suspended. The study collected data from 937 parents (87.8% mothers) of children aged 5–12 (M = 7.35 years, SD = 2.09; 50.5% girls). Parents reported on parent-child relationships, children’s daily living routine, and child adjustment problems in an online survey. Our findings from structural equation modeling indicate that parent-child closeness was negatively related to child adjustment problems, whereas conflict was positively related to child adjustment problems. Children’s routine mediated the associations between parent-child relationships (i.e., closeness and conflict) and child externalizing problems. However, children’s routine did not mediate the associations between parent-child relationships (i.e., closeness and conflict) and child internalizing problems. The findings show that parents should be helped to establish routine, especially in difficult times when young children experience turbulence in their daily life, so as to reduce their adjustment problems, in particular of an externalizing nature.

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Funding

This study was partially supported by the Research Cluster Funds of the Department of Early Childhood Education at the Education University of Hong Kong.

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  1. Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR

    Xiao-yuan Wu, Eva Yi Hung Lau, Jian-Bin Li & Derwin King Chung Chan

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Contributions

EL, J-BL, and DC designed the study. EL collected the data. X-YW conceptualized the manuscript, performed formal analyses, and wrote the paper. EL, J-BL, and DC collaborated with the revision of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

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Correspondence to Eva Yi Hung Lau.

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This study involving human participants was reviewed and approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of The Education University of Hong Kong and met the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki and the American Psychological Association.

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Wu, Xy., Lau, E.Y.H., Li, JB. et al. Children’s Daily Living Routine Mediates the Relations Between Parent-Child Relationships and Child Adjustment Problems During School Suspension in Hong Kong. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-023-01609-7

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